Martina
Member
I'm an avid DIYer and although I work diligently and try to do things right, I occasionally mess things up, so please don't come down too hard on me for the following scenario. 
I'm amidst a bathroom remodel which required me to significantly cut back the shower drain pipe, add a 2" coupler and new DWV riser. After cutting back the piping, I was literally left with 1" of exposed 2" piping to which I could attach my coupling. The cut was very clean and I sanded it down prior to applying primer and glue. What I failed to do was check that it was level. I glued in the coupler, held it down for 10+ seconds and immediately afterwards glued in my 2' DWV riser, which I also held down for over 10 seconds for it to grip. I then grabbed my level and noticed it was out of plumb. Given that I initially only had 1" of exposed PVC to attach the coupler, I knew any further fixes would include having to bust out more concrete to fully expose the P-trap and replace the whole assembly.
In my panic, I made adjustments to the pipe while the cement was in the drying process. I know that wasn't textbook, but that's all I could think of to do. Per the instructions, I had applied a liberal coat of cement with a second follow-up coat. It appeared that things hadn't fully dried as I was still able to make adjustments, but it did require a little pressure. After leveling the pipe, I applied additional cement around the joints and left everything to dry. About 6 hours later, I ran some water through it with no leaks whatsoever.
My question is, is there a way to ensure that the joints are properly sealed before closing up the hole? I contemplated applying a water-activated fiberglass wrap to the joints in question as a safety measure, but wasn't sure if that's the right approach. Please see attached photograph for configuration and let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
I'm amidst a bathroom remodel which required me to significantly cut back the shower drain pipe, add a 2" coupler and new DWV riser. After cutting back the piping, I was literally left with 1" of exposed 2" piping to which I could attach my coupling. The cut was very clean and I sanded it down prior to applying primer and glue. What I failed to do was check that it was level. I glued in the coupler, held it down for 10+ seconds and immediately afterwards glued in my 2' DWV riser, which I also held down for over 10 seconds for it to grip. I then grabbed my level and noticed it was out of plumb. Given that I initially only had 1" of exposed PVC to attach the coupler, I knew any further fixes would include having to bust out more concrete to fully expose the P-trap and replace the whole assembly.
In my panic, I made adjustments to the pipe while the cement was in the drying process. I know that wasn't textbook, but that's all I could think of to do. Per the instructions, I had applied a liberal coat of cement with a second follow-up coat. It appeared that things hadn't fully dried as I was still able to make adjustments, but it did require a little pressure. After leveling the pipe, I applied additional cement around the joints and left everything to dry. About 6 hours later, I ran some water through it with no leaks whatsoever.
My question is, is there a way to ensure that the joints are properly sealed before closing up the hole? I contemplated applying a water-activated fiberglass wrap to the joints in question as a safety measure, but wasn't sure if that's the right approach. Please see attached photograph for configuration and let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
